Green Coffee Beans May Help with Weight Loss: Study

First chocolate, now raw coffee?

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Green coffee beans could help with weight loss, but experts caution more research is needed.

Updated at 6:42 AM PDT on Wednesday, Mar 28, 2012

Green, unroasted coffee might help you lose weight – if you can stomach it.

A small pilot study showed those who took doses of “extremely bitter” green coffee bean extract lost an average of 17.5 pounds in 22 weeks and reduced their overall body weight by 10.5 percent, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The study, which was funded by a green coffee bean extract manufacturer, had asked 16 overweight young adults to ingest a low dose of green coffee bean extract, a high dose of the supplement, or a placebo over a six week period.

University of Scranton chemist Joe Vinson, who conducted the study, said the extract could help by reducing the absorption of glucose and insulin levels in the stomach, the Times reported. Participants experienced no ill side effects and a larger study is in the works, he said.

But New York University physician and biochemist Dr. Gerald Weissmann cautioned that nutrition experts would worry over whether green coffee beans might cause “malabsorption” in the gut – meaning vitamins and minerals might not be absorbed during digestion, leading to malnutrition and other problems, according to the Times.

“It’s premature to recommend this approach,” Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center told ABC News. “The effects, if real, are likely to be modest and we don’t know if they last over time.”

News of the study comes on the heels of another report linking frequent chocolate consumption to weight loss.